Singapore shares bucked regional market trends and rose on Friday (Aug 25) to close out the week higher.
The gains come amid slowing growth in the Republic’s second-quarter service receipts and yet another fall in monthly factory output.
The Straits Times Index (STI) climbed 0.3 per cent or 9.16 points to end the week at 3,189.88.
Across the broader market, gainers edged out losers 246 to 243, with 1.6 billion securities worth S$836.5 million changing hands.
Other indices in the region retreated on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 led declines, falling 2.1 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi Composite Index dropped 0.7 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 1.4 per cent, while the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI ticked down 0.02 per cent.
Singapore reported two sets of macroeconomic data on Friday. Service industries recorded a 3.9 per cent on-year rise in business receipts in Q2, down from the revised 7.7 per cent growth in the preceding quarter.
Meanwhile, the country’s factory output fell for the 10th straight month in July, slipping 0.9 per cent. However, that was less than the revised 6.6 per cent decline in June.
STI constituent Singapore Exchange : S68 -1.14% fell 1.1 per cent or S$0.11 to end at S$9.51. The bourse operator on Friday welcomed the listing of a new Vietnam-focused exchange-traded fund (ETF), the CGS Fullgoal Vietnam 30 Sector Cap ETF.
Food solutions and gateway services group Sats : S58 -1.17% was the biggest loser on the STI as it slid 1.2 per cent or S$0.03 to S$2.53. The mainboard-listed group’s latest results saw it sink deeper into the red with a S$29.9 million Q1 net loss.
Meanwhile, Sembcorp Industries : U96 +2.28% was the top gainer on the STI, rising 2.3 per cent or S$0.12 to S$5.39. It is set to join the MSCI Singapore Index from Sep 1, after its market capitalisation crossed the S$10 billion mark.
The trio of local banks mostly ended higher on Friday. DBS : D05 +0.27% shares rose 0.3 per cent or S$0.09 to S$32.90, while UOB : U11 +0.9% shares were up 0.9 per cent or S$0.25 to S$28.08. OCBC : O39 0% ended flat at S$12.36.
Elsewhere, US stocks sank into the red overnight. Saxo’s Apac strategy team said investors are turning cautious ahead of Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s speech on Friday at the Jackson Hole Symposium, in anticipation of a hawkish-leaning message.
All 11 sectors of the S&P 500 declined, led by information technology, communication services, and consumer discretionary, added the team in a note. – The Business Times
